Adjustable wrench



May 22, 1923. 1,456,29Q

K. G. TELL ADJUS TABLE WRENCH Filed Sept. 19, 1921 Patented May 22,1923.

rrso STATES KARL G. TELL, OF HIGHLAND PARK, EICHIGAN.

ADJUSTABLE wanton.

Application filed September 19, 1921. Serial m. $01,514.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KARL G. TELL, a c tlzen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Highland Park, in the county of Wayne and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1nAdjustable Wrenches, of which the following is a specification,reference being had therem to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to adjustable socket wrenches, and has for oneobject of the 1nvention, the provision of a simple, strong andinexpensive structure by means of which the necessity of carrying anentire set of socket wrenches maybe avoided.

A further object of my 1nvent1on 1s to provide a compact form of wrenchhaving a shank to which may be applied any desired form of handleaccording to the location in which the tool is to be used or the natureof the nut to which the tool is to be applied.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device in whichall of the parts may be constructed b inexpensive opera tions so thatthe cost o the completed article may be kept at the lowest possiblefigure.

The above and additional ob ects are accomplished by such means as areillustrated in the preferred embodiment of my nvention shown in theaccompanylng drawlng, 1n

which Figure l is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of myinvent on;

Fig. 2.is a vertical central sectlon;

Fig. 3 is a plan View;

Fig. 4 is a bottom view, and

Figs, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are vlews illustratlng the application to mydevice of various types of handles.

In the form of my invention herein 1llus trated, the socket wrenchconsists of five parts, a main body portion 1, w1th1n which is slidablymounted a movable jaw 2, provided with teeth 3 upon the portion whichslides within the body; a worm 4 in mesh with the teeth 3; a pivot 5upon which the worm 4 is mounted for rotation within a recess of thebody 1, and a sleeve 6 secured upon a tang 7 formed upon the end of thebody 1 remote from the sliding jaw 2. The sleeve may be welded, brazed,riveted, or otherwise secured to the tang 7 but preferably is held 1nplace by means of a spring pressed ball 8, engaging a depression on thelnner side of the sleeve, this arrangement permittmg the sleeve 6 to beremoved for engagement of the tang 7 -by.a socketed handle of a size toreceive it.

The body "is formed at the end remote from the tang 7 as a jaw 9co-operating with the'movablej aw 2, the confronting faces of the jawsbeing recessed as indicated at 10 and 11 .to engage polygonal nuts orcap screws. Since the ordinary nuts in use on automobiles are hexagonal,the included angle formed by the sides of each recess will preferably beone hundred twenty degrees. It will be obvious that the jaws may be madewith a ninety degree included angle in cases where the wrench isintended to be used mainly with square headed cap screws or nuts and theangle will be correspondingly varied to suit other special conditions.

Upon the exterior of the sleeve, bosses 12 are struck up to act as stopslimiting the distance to which a wrench may be slid, as indicated inFig. 6, known form of ratchet wrench 13 engaging the sleeve 6 andresting upon the bosses l2.

The teeth 3 are formed on a broad extension which shows a'. .well

of the jaw 2, the extension being substantially T-shaped for engagementwith a correspondingly shaped passage in the body 1.

The worm 4 is also made broad in proportion to its length for greaterease in manipulation by the finger and thumb. The upper portion of thebody 1 is cut away on a bevel at 14 to permit ready access to the worm4.

The jaws .2 and 9 are rounded at their lower outer edges as indicated at15 and 16 to accommodate the wrench for entry into the limited spacesabout the nuts in many machines.

It will be noted that the metal is distributed in the jaws in suchmanner as to resist the stresses to which the parts are subjected whilein use and that the entire device is compact and small as compared withordinary wrenches. Any suitable type of handle may be used capable ofengagement either inside or outside of the sleeve 6 or upon the outsideof the tang 7.

In Fig. 5, for example, an ordinary olfset or bent handle'is shownengaging the inside of the sleeve, but it is obvlous that it might havea' socket to engage the outside of the sleeve 6 or of the tang 7.

In Fig. 7, the wrench is shown as used with a universal joint 17operated by means of a ratchet handle 13.

In Fig. 8, the wrench is shown as used with a T-handle 18 having a crossbar 19 ad- 'ustably mounted therein andheld in' place y a set screw 20.The upper end of this handle 18 is made hexagonal as indicated at 21, sothat by removing the handle 19 and the set screw 20, the hexagonal end21 may be engaged by the socket of another handle,

the handle 18 thus acting as an extension member for use when the nut islocated in a place difiicult of access.

In Fig. 9, a brace22 is shown as applied within the socket 6. though ifthe ordinary bit-stock were used the chuck would engage the outside ofthe sleeve 6 or of the tang 7 in an obvious manner not illustrated.

It will be seen that the tool shown in the present embodiment of myinvention may be used upon nuts of all sizes found in an ordinaryautomobile and by the use of an appropriate form of handle,substantially any bolt or nut may be reached with this wrench. Only asingle tool need be carried instead of the heavy sets of socket wrenchesof various sizes now ordinarily used.

There is thus provided a device possessing the advantages beforeenumerated as desirable but which obviously is susceptible ofmodification in its form, proportions, details of construction andarrangement of parts. without sacrificing any of its advantages.

It will therefore be understood that the invention is not limited to thespecific details shown, that the invention is claimed in any of itsforms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope oftheappended claims, a

I claim 1. A wrench comprising a body member having a fixed jaw integraltherewith, a reduced non-circular tang formed at the end of the bodymember opposite the fixed jaw, a movable aw, a portion integral withsaid movable aw having a rack formed thereon and adapted for slidingmovement within a groove in said body portion, a worm mounted upon apivot within said body portion in mesh with said rack, and anon-circular sleeve secured to said tang, the tang extending through aportion only of the interior of the sleeve whereby to provide a socketadapted to receive a handle member.

2. A wrench comprising a body member having a fixed jaw formed at oneend thereof, a movable jaw co-operating with said fixed jaw, anon-circular tang formed at the end of the body member opposite thefixed jaw, and a non-circular removable sleeve secured ,upon said tang,said sleeve being of greater length than said tang, whereby to provide anon-circular socket in the outer end thereof to receive a non-circularhandle member.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

KARL G. TELL. \Vitnesses:

A. M. Donn, A. MINNICK.

